News

New Races To Be Playable In Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend

The sylvari and the asura will finally become playable for the first time.

Have you felt that previous beta explorations in Guild Wars 2 felt a little lacking in terms of character choice? Worry not. During the next and final beta weekend, the two as-yet-unplayed races -- the asura and the sylvari -- finally become playable, allowing you to check them out as well as their respective starting zones.

The news was revealed on the Arena Net blog, which reveals the following information about the two newly unlocked races:

For asura players, this means beginning your tale in Metrica Province, a vivid, exotic jungle area full of high-tech laboratories, quirky golems, and competing krewes of mad scientists. Nearby, the massive monoliths of the asuran capital Rata Sum hum with technomagical power. These diminutive geniuses may seem cute at first glance, but never underestimate an asura…

Sylvari players begin their story in the Grove, a luminous living city nestled in the shade of the Pale Tree, the "mother" of every member of this young race of plant humanoids. The sylvari are an enigmatic race of chivalrous explorers who are driven by an insatiable curiosity and guided by a collective Dream.

This sounds awesome. The new races appeal to both whimsical and the technology-thirsty parts of me, and Guild Wars 2 just might be my excuse for getting back into MMOs.
The blog also mentions that the next beta weekend is not this weekend, but the next -- from July 20th to the 22nd. This is your final chance to test out Guild Wars 2 before its August 28th release date, and hopefully the upcoming beta weekend will help cement your choice of race, too.